Born in a Burial Gown
by Jyira Keller
Summary: Jane isn't thrilled to be moving to the town of Fell's Church, considering what she's heard about it. And worse, she lives in the house, and looks like her. Which could have nasty consequences for Jane, and possible for Stefan too.
1. Part 1

Title: Born in a Burial Gown   
Author: Jyira  
Email: jyira@yahoo.co.uk  
Spoilers: Vampire Diaries, all books  
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries characters and story line belong to LJS, everything else belongs to me. The title comes from a Cradle of Filth song.   
Rating: 15  
Warnings: Mild violence, mild language  
Summary: Jane isn't thrilled to be moving in the middle of a school year, particularly to the town of Fell's Church, which has something of a bad reputation, not to mention what happened to the girl who's house she's now living in. She's equally unthrilled to learn she resembles the dead girl, Elena Gilbert, which has nasty consequences for Jane, and quite possibly for Stefan as well.  
Notes: feedback, constructive criticism appreciated. This is set a year after the last Vampire Diaries book. This will NOT HAVE a Bonnie/Damon pairing!   
  
Part 1  
  
Dear Diary,  
This is just so completely unfair! I can't believe it. Why now? I've had to leave everything! Everything! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was at the start of the semester. But in the middle of the fucking year? I just can't believe it.  
  
It's all Dad's fault. If he hadn't had that stupid lame affair with his secretary - how *old* is that, anyway? It's got to be the oldest story in the book. Mom wouldn't have found out, and left, and dragged me all the way over to Virginia.   
  
I liked California. Lots to do, nice climate, now here. I did a little research on the town I'd be moving to, Fell's Church. It's almost like moving to Monster Island. They had all sorts of weird trouble last year, and the year before that with some of the senior class. Mysterious deaths, all starting round about the same time, when some new guy walked in.  
  
And even worse, we're living in the house of the one of the dead people, Elena Somebodyorother. She's supposed to be the reason all the weird stuff happened.   
  
I started school on Monday, it's...um...well, after midnight so it's probably Wednesday now. Everyone's *staring* at me like I've got a horn growing out my forehead or something.  
  
Hardly anyone will speak to me. They all seem to make a deliberate effort to avoid me. Even the boys. They look at me as I pass with something like awe and longing on their faces, which is what I usually get, but they won't come near me.  
  
The sudden change is...normally, I'm surrounded by people all the time. I was so popular before. Now I'm nothing. I'm not sure if I'm angry or upset. What the hell is wrong with me? Why won't people talk to me?  
  
I've tried striking up a few conversations, like with the girl I set next to in bio-lab, who seems to be just forcing herself to be polite. And even weirder...I get the idea I'm being watched.  
  
It's totally crazy, I know. It's like eyes boring into my back everywhere I go. It's creepy. God, I want my normal life back. I want to stop whining as well. So far I'm not doing a very good job.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
~What the hell am I doing here?~ he thought, standing in the same clearing as he had almost a year and a half ago. Just year...it didn't seem like it. Longer or shorter, Damon wasn't really sure. The span of years didn't really mean anything to him anymore.  
  
They'd probably all moved on now, he doubted any of them would be here. But it's not just because *them* you're here, is it? A small voice in the back of his mind said. He usually ignored the voices trying to talk reason or sense into him. Where was the fun in that?  
  
But what had brought him back to Fell's Church? Boredom. Something to do? He wandered out of the woods and back towards the direction of the old woman's boarding house. Still in business?  
  
What the...  
  
A girl walked past him. Blending into the night time shadows, she didn't see him watching her. Same pale blonde hair...porcelain pure skin...talk about a bad case of déjà vu.  
  
Out of sheer curiosity, he followed her. It was uncanny. She was even going back to the same house. But what was she doing here? Wasn't she in Florence with his brother? A delicious thought crossed his mind.  
  
Maybe it hadn't been true love after all. She had finally decided she needed more excitement in her life. She was young, after all. She needed a more exciting life. Coming back to a town where she was supposed to be dead and buried, stir up the locals again, maybe...  
  
"Elena?" he breathed, a soft sigh of wind on the night air.  
  
The girl turned. Damon frowned. Not Elena. But she looked...then again, hadn't he thought the same about Elena and Katherine? Look where that had gotten him. A third girl? Did that mean something?  
  
"Who's there?" the girl demanded, her voice harsh and cold. She was full of bitterness and resentfulness. Even if she wasn't Elena, it had been a while since he'd had a decent companion. No one had even come close to even make him consider offering them the tantalising prospects of immortality, not since Elena...  
  
Elena was gone, never could be, and never would be his. As bitter as he might be about that, no fling he'd had recently would make him forget her. Was the only reason he was interested in her because he was looking for an Elena substitute?   
  
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on her, anyway.  
  
The girl turned towards him again, hearing a rush of feathers as the black crow squawked, winked at her, and flew off.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Jane was certain she was going crazy. She must be. Crows didn't fly at night, and they didn't *wink* at you. She could have sworn she'd seen someone in the shadows back there, watching her, following her...  
  
Or was she just going paranoid because she wasn't used to being watched or stared at in a not-so-good-way. She was used to admiring glances, longing, she had always been the type of girl everyone else wanted to be.   
  
She found her house keys and went inside. The TV was on in the lounge, Mom was sprawled out on the couch, an empty bottle of Vodka in her hand. An ash-tray full of cigarette-buts were smouldering on the coffee table.  
  
Jane's eyes rolled. Just what everyone wanted to come home to. Mom wasn't always like this. She used to have a life, and work once. Since the divorce, everything had changed. Jane sighed and trudged upstairs.  
  
She sat on the window seat below the large bay window, staring out into the night, trying to see past the branches of the huge tree outside. She was tired, but didn't feel like sleeping. An odd sort of apathy had settled over her.  
  
She noticed her diary slumped on the bedside table where she had left it last night. She didn't feel like complaining anymore about how bad her life was going. There were a number of unopened letters on her desk from her friends back home, all wanting to see how her new life was going.  
  
Well, it sucked. What had she ever done to deserve this? ~So much for not complaining~ she thought with a wry smile.   
  
Everything had started going bad from the minute she'd arrived. They were staying in the house of a girl who had died only two years ago.   
  
Was this the girl's bedroom? Had she sat on this window-seat contemplating her own life? Had she sat up after midnight scribbling in a diary? Did people look at her like she might bite if you spoke to her?  
  
Whispers and rumours were all she'd heard about what happened here. She'd seen pages on the Net about the town, read the Strange-But-True? stories, something to do with vampires.   
  
Vampires? Jane shook her head in disgust. What were people's obsessions with vampires? She didn't see the fascination with them herself. Who wanted to live forever? And drink blood to be able to do that? Yuck!   
  
Her mind was drifting. She yanked open another window in the room, letting the cold air blow in. She felt like she was floating around, not able to get her feet on the ground. Another squawk sounding from a near by tree branch caught her attention. Jane's head whirled round, blonde hair flying.  
  
This was nuts! What the hell was...She looked around for something to throw at the giant black bird. It's eyes gleamed in the darkness at her. That wasn't normal, was it? It was almost like this...creature...had a personality of some sort.  
  
"Quoth the crow nevermore," Jane snorted at it. "Go *away*!" She turned her back on it, shutting the window, and yanking the drapes shut as well. Even as she went to bed later that night she got the uncomfortable impression it was still there. Watching her.  
* * * 


	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
Home sweet home. It didn't seem to Bonnie like almost two years had passed. The time had passed so quickly. She was only supposed to be home for a short visit during a break from college.  
  
The first afternoon back she spent wandering around the town, looking to see what, if anything had changed, who was still around. So far she had only seen one or two people she knew.  
  
Stepping into the library a faint smile touched her lips as she noticed Elena's diaries were still there, left for the townspeople so they would know the truth about what really happened. The second time around her own diary had held the truth, but she hadn't added it to the collection.  
  
Several people, of whom must be the next generation of teenagers in the town had glanced at her and started whispering when she'd passed by. Had they read the diaries?  
  
Her own life seemed to have gone back to normal when she went to Boone College as she had been planning. Meredith had gone off to Duke, Bonnie wasn't sure what she was actually studying; Meredith was being very secretive about it. Matt had disappeared off to the West Coast on a football scholarship, she got a letter from him every now and then. Caroline was living it up in some fancy New York apartment, attending NYC, she called all the time, all she seemed to want to talk about was the shopping and 'the best sorority on campus' she had joined. And Elena and Stefan had flitted off to Florence and gotten married. It had been a while since Bonnie had heard from them.   
  
She was about to leave the library when she noticed a figure moving in front of the open display case with Elena's diaries. For a moment Bonnie was riveted to the spot in shock.  
  
The girl was blonde and slender, ice-pale skin, fashionably dressed, her hand reaching out to trace the letters on the beautiful velvet blue book that spelled 'diary'. It just couldn't be. No way! Elena was in Florence with Stefan!  
  
As if feeling eyes on her, the girl turned. Bonnie flushed and looked away quickly, embarrassed. Uh, no. The girl wasn't Elena. The resemblance was almost uncanny. When she looked back, the girl threw her an extremely dirty glare and stalked off.  
  
The minute she was gone, Bonnie found herself breathing again. What had...oh no. When she had left Fell's Church her psychic powers had receded. She had had no need to use them. She hadn't had anything to do with anything supernatural. (Apart from talking to Stefan occasionally, but that didn't really count.)  
  
Now the minute she was back in Fell's Church, her nerves were singing again. That girl who looked like Elena...there was something almost...disturbing about her that Bonnie couldn't quite put her finger on. It was more than the fact that she looked almost exactly the same as Elena had...like Elena had looked like Katherine...  
  
Uh-oh.  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Jane felt like punching the next persons she heard whispering about her behind her back. Second week of school she had hoped that the gossip would finally die down, that was how it usually went.   
  
Unfortunately, something else had happened at the weekend that was causing people to gossip intensely and whisper even more that usual.   
  
It had been ever since Saturday. She had gone to join the local library, having nothing better to do. She had been most surprised to find some diary of a local girl on display for people to pick up and read.  
  
It was the dairy of that girl, Elena, whose house she was living in. Jane didn't understand why anyone would want their diary on display, even if the person was dead, it was the most private place anyone could violate, to Jane, at least, looking inside someone's diary.   
  
The other diary there belonged to the one of the town's founders, Honoria Fell, and was in a glass case. When the person had been dead for maybe two hundred years or so, then it wouldn't be so bad. But if you'd only been dead for a short time...  
  
Yet again, she'd felt the disturbing sense of being watched and had turned around, only to see some other older girl staring at her, looking as if she'd seen a ghost. It was starting to get pathetic now.  
  
Jane scowled as she stalked down the halls of Robert E. Lee High to the girl's bathroom. Okay, she got it, she looked like someone who was dead, she lived in the dead girl's house, what was the big deal? It was all just a coincidence.   
  
There were a group of girls from some of her classes there, gossiping about football tryouts and the upcoming Homecoming dance. Conversation stopped as soon as Jane walked in.  
  
"What is everyone's problem?" she snapped, annoyed. No one seemed to want to give her any sort of answers.  
  
Most of the girls quickly gathered up their stuff and hurried out. "Excuse us for not wanting to die or go insane," one of them muttered snidely.  
  
Jane stared after them in disbelief, still finding it extremely hard to accept that this was really happening. People were actually turning and *running* from her now? She turned to face the rows of mirrors on the wall, gripping the first sink she saw.  
  
"I take it you don't actually know the story of Elena Gilbert."  
  
Was it Jane's imagination or was someone actually talking to her? Jane glanced around to see one of the girls had stayed behind. A small girl with long brown hair and bright green eyes, dressed in white leather pants and a top in shades of blue.   
  
"I've heard rumours," Jane said with a frown. "Why?"  
  
The girl introduced herself as Sarah, and told her the whole story. Jane wasn't any happier, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, with a sinking feeling as absurd as the story sound it, she knew Sarah was telling her the truth. She thought of the diary in the library. Everything she wanted to know should be in there.  
  
"So how come no one wants to talk to me?" she asked.  
  
Sarah shrugged. "Well, they're afraid of...weird stuff...happening again."  
  
"I've only just got here," Jane snorted. "Nothing weird's happened." Her mind drifted back to the crow the other night, the bird that had winked at her, been spying on her. No. That was just nuts.  
  
Or maybe not.  
  
* * *  
  
It wasn't right. Just not right at all. And totally unfair. Maybe it had been one hundred years ago, but it had never happened to Allegra before. All the men she'd wanted in previous centuries had fallen at her feet.   
  
Stefan Salvatore had seemed to her to be the challenge she'd always longed for. Mysterious and solitary, and, incidentally, gorgeous. It had taken more than ten years to finally seduce him. He'd been most reluctant to give into her, a little love spell had finally snared him.  
  
His mind always seemed to be on a different planet, anywhere but on Allegra. And he had just walked off, without hardly a word but a quick apology that things weren't working out for him.  
  
She had been most surprised to see him in Fell's Church, courting some little human bimbo. She had kept herself hidden, watching, that idiot Katherine hadn't been able to do much of a job of killing him.  
  
Katherine was dead, and almost two years later, Stefan was back, slinking around in the shadows, watching the little human girl at a distance. She'd been a little confused, remembering hearing the human girl had died.  
  
Yet there she was, walking around. And not a vampire. Allegra didn't get it. But didn't care. It was probably the oldest story in the book, revenge against a boy who had walked out on you for another girl.  
  
Allegra didn't really care. She just wanted her shot at it. And if things went her way, she could be the one who changed the story.  
  
* * * 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
Despite her earlier resolve that reading a person's diary, even if that person was dead, was wrong, Jane had gone back to the library that evening to find out the real story of Fell's Church. The library was shut by the time she got there. She cursed mentally, and took out a credit card, using it to open the door and sneak in.  
  
She hadn't noticed any security guards or anything around, and no cameras or anything. She should be okay. She wasn't going to do anything wrong. She just wanted to read the diary. As she began to read once again the uncomfortable feeling of being watched slipped over her again.  
  
She shook her head, telling herself off for being stupidly paranoid and immersed herself in the story in the diary. Weird didn't even begin to describe the events that had happened in the town.   
  
Jane didn't know how long it took her to read the thing from start to finish, she just knew she had to read the whole thing. By the end she realised she was actually crying. No wonder people were giving her funny looks.  
  
But if this story were true...there would be a grave in the cemetery then. She *lived* in Elena's house...she was in Elena's very room. The first parts of the diary, talking about boys and friends and dances and campaigns for dance queens...they could have been written by Jane's own hand.  
  
But mysterious new boys, vicious attacks, sexy, mysterious older men...vampires...they were unique to Elena. Nothing like that had ever happened to Jane. She wasn't sure what to do with all the information she'd learned.  
  
She stood up, deciding to go home. She wanted to take the diary with her, but didn't. She put it back on its shelf, vaguely wondering how much it would cost to photocopy the whole thing.  
  
But she knew from Sarah that Elena's story wasn't the only thing that had happened. A year or so ago, something else had happened too. One of Elena's old friends Bonnie was back in town. That was what had started everyone whispering again.  
  
She wondered what had happened to Stefan, the first gorgeous boy who had come and started the chain of events. Maybe he was still around and still available. She felt herself smiling at that.  
  
"Hello Elena," a deep voice said as a shadow became solid. "Have you missed me?"  
  
Jane blinked, looking up at the guy standing in front of her. He wasn't that much bigger than her, with wavy dark hair, and eyes like black pools. "You're Damon." She stared at him in utter disbelief. Damon was the shorter brother, wasn't he? And the nastier one. Oh dear.  
  
"Well you remember my name, so that's something." His lip curled in an elegant sneer. "Florence wasn't to your taste, I take it? And from the looks of it, neither was my brother." He sounded rather pleased about that.  
  
Jane opened her mouth to ask him what the hell he was talking about. She'd never *been* to Florence, and from the sound of Elena's diary, Stefan actually *was* a hell of a lot more to her taste.  
  
Then she realised. He'd called her Elena. He thought she was Elena.   
  
"I'm not Elena," she said, wondering if she should tell him who she really was. But she had a sinking feeling if she lied, he'd know, and lying to a vampire probably wasn't such a hot idea. Vampire...she was standing in front of one. One who was five hundred years old, give or take a few years.   
  
Damon looked at her, frowning a little. "You're not Katherine reincarnated are you?"  
  
"I sure as hell hope not!" Jane snorted. "She was the crazy one, right?"  
  
Damon smiled again, like a cat stretching. Jane wasn't sure she wanted to be in his presence for too long. She didn't want to be his midnight snack. "To be polite, yes. Who are you?"  
  
"Jane Keaton. I just moved here."  
  
"Into Elena's old house."  
  
Had he been that crow that had been following her? She'd convinced herself she was imagining it. Elena had said Damon changed into a crow. Oh great, she thought sourly. Maybe she should have acted with more caution before letting him know she knew who he was.  
  
"You'd be stupid not to be scared," he said casually.  
  
Jane glared. "It's not polite to read people's minds, you know!" she snapped.  
  
Damon chuckled, rich, deep and disturbing. "I don't do polite."  
  
Jane knew now was the time to get out of there. Despite how gorgeous Damon was she would trust Elena's word that he was bad news. Even though he'd held helped out at the end of the story, she'd rather be safe than sorry. She didn't want to end up like Elena had.  
  
"I'm leaving now," she started, starting to brush past him and hurry for the exit.  
  
Damon already beat her there, smiling invitingly. "So soon?"  
  
"I...I have homework."  
  
"All right. See you round."  
  
And he was gone. Just like that. Jane blinked, wondering how he'd managed to leave so fast, without her even hearing a sound. She found herself breathing a huge sigh of relief now he was gone. Her skin hadn't quite stopped crawling.  
  
She opened the door, only to find herself facing another figure. The woman looked to be in her early twenties, tall and slender with a mane of golden hair cascading around her shoulders in gentle curls. Her eyes were the colour of moonstone, her elegant lips frowning at Jane in disapproval. Her outfit was a blood red top and white leather pants.  
  
~Please don't be Katherine~ Jane thought.   
  
The woman smiled unpleasantly, almost seeming like a female version of Damon. "Naughty little girls like yourself who bite off more than they can chew get into trouble."  
  
Jane blinked. "What? Who the hell are you?"  
  
The woman laughed, the sound was like glass breaking, sending shivers running down Jane's spine. "You'll find out soon enough, Elena. I promise." And with that, she did the same disappearing act that Damon had done.  
  
* * * 


	4. Part 4

Part 4  
  
Stefan woke suddenly, a cold sweat breaking out over his forehead from the unexpected nightmare. He was panting hard as well. He couldn't remember the last time he'd woken with such a panicked fear.  
  
He lay still for several minutes, trying to calm himself down. Beside him, Elena slept peacefully, her eyes fluttering as she dreamed, her expression soft, her lips almost smiling. He tried to take comfort in the sight of her, the nearness of her presence, but for the first time ever, it didn't work.  
  
What had he been dreaming about that had shaken him up so much? A girl, like Elena but not quite. Not Katherine, either. Since Elena had returned he had never thought of Katherine or Klaus again. He had no need to. He had the one thing he had wanted more than anything and was not about to let her go.  
  
So who had...Oh. If he were his brother, he would have probably thought of something extremely profane to describe what he had just felt when he remembered. But he wasn't his brother, and he wasn't going to think it.   
  
Allegra.   
  
Allegra had been a girl he'd had a fling with several hundred years ago in a desperate attempt to try to move on after Katherine. She looked very similar. Exceptionally pretty with long blonde hair, blue eyes. And she had been a vampire. It was that fact that had drawn him to her. She had seemed almost as withdrawn as he had when they had first met. She had been newly made and didn't really know what she was doing. He had thought that they could help each other.  
  
Only then Allegra had learned to kill, and started turning...evil. More Damon's taste than his. He had wondered briefly if it was Damon who had made her, but didn't dare ask. He never knew who made her. He had broken off the affair. Only Allegra hadn't taken it too well. He had left before she could talk him into coming back to her, living her way.  
  
He hadn't thought of her in years. So why was he dreaming of her. Dreaming of her...and death. She was hunting him. Killing anything that got in her way, there was nothing that could stop her from getting to him, and she had...  
  
Well, before she could kill him he had woken up.  
  
The dream had had an uncanny sense of reality Stefan hadn't liked at all. If he hadn't woken when he had, would he...He couldn't finish the thought. He could ask Bonnie, he supposed, she might be able to interpret it a little better than him. The dream was an omen, that much he was sure of, and not a good one.  
  
He lay awake and restless the rest of the night.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Bonnie was dreaming. The city around her was ruined and deserted. She had to be dreaming. She had never been to a place like this before. A cold wind was blowing her red curls all over the place. Which was odd, because the sky was several shades of dark blue, full of the brightest stars she had never seen.  
  
She felt extremely small and alone...and scared. What was she doing here? "Hello?" she called out. "Anyone there?" She was almost afraid of the answer. Nervously, she started forward, not really sure which way to go.  
  
There was an apartment building up ahead that looked run-down, but was still standing. She thought she could see a flicker of red light. Fire? She could smell a sour stench in the air. Whatever fire there had been, it smelled like it had just gone out.   
  
She cautiously made her way to the building.  
  
"Hello? Is anyone there?"  
  
It was her words, but not her voice. Bonnie's head snapped around as she tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. This was just getting too weird for her. ~I want to wake up now~ she thought pathetically.  
  
"I'm here! Over here!" she called out. The other voice sounded familiar. A figure was coming out of the apartment building. Small and blonde, pale skin, torn clothing, covered in blood. Bonnie stared for a few minutes as the girl came towards her. "*Elena*?" she whispered in disbelief.  
  
"Help me!" Elena stumbled forward - oh. Wait. Not Elena. It was that other girl she'd seen in the library by Elena's diary the other day.   
  
"Stop right there! I'm not done with you yet!" another voice, very similar, was shouting, sounding like an irritated child. A third girl came running down the steps. Again she was small and blonde, and looked like Elena. Only she had pointed canines, and was brandishing a large silver knife.  
  
The injured girl ducked behind Bonnie for cover. Bonnie moved backwards away from the vampire with the knife. She had an aura of danger and menace about her, and from the look in her moonstone coloured eyes, a sanity chip was missing as well.  
  
She wasn't quite Katherine either...and she was getting closer. "Now what?" the girl behind her was whispering. Bonnie could almost feel her shaking.  
  
"We run," Bonnie said, grabbing the girl's hand and starting to pull her away.   
  
"Oh no you don't." The crazy vampire with the knife was standing in front of her, the knife raised high above her head. Bonnie opened her mouth - and woke up.  
  
She shook her head in confusion, realising she was sweating. Two girls, both looking very similar to Elena and Katherine...no doubt Stefan and/or Damon were involved somehow. ~What *is* it with those two and blondes with blue eyes?~ she thought with disgust. Whatever. She sighed, reaching for the phone and dialling Elena's number in Florence.  
  
"We have a situation down here," she said.  
  
* * * 


	5. Part 5

Part 5  
  
Jane sat up in bed, sweat pouring down her forehead. Groaning, she switched on the beside lamp. 4:30. She knew she wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep tonight. She sighed heavily. Fragments of unusual dreams had been plaguing her all night.  
  
Mostly involving the blonde vampire she had seen at the library after Damon had left her. Those moonstone eyes and ice cold beauty was frightening, and disturbing. And yet another person mistaking her for Elena. What was she going to do about that? Get a T-shirt printed, wear a sign around her neck saying "I AM NOT ELENA"? That would probably make people avoid her even more, she thought with a faint smile.  
  
She couldn't really be Katherine, could she? Back to wreak more havoc? Vickie returned from the grave? She was another one who had died under mysterious circumstances. There was more to the story in Elena's diary, if she wasn't certain of it before, Jane was certain of it now.  
  
Who could tell her the rest? She wasn't stupid enough to go looking for Damon and asking him. She didn't want to find herself dead. Maybe Sarah could ell her more. She was the only one who had spoken to her for more than five minutes.  
  
What the hell did *any* of this have to do with her? Was this house cursed to be filled with small girls with blonde hair and blue eyes living Elena Gilbert's history over and over? The thought made her shudder. Elena's friends and memories wouldn't live on here for all eternity...Or would they?  
  
Damon was real...so Stefan must be too, and must be out and about somewhere. They would carry Elena's memory, Stefan had lived with what he'd done to Katherine for five hundred years plus...  
  
Jane collapsed back against the pillows, switching out the light and glancing out at the bay window, almost expecting to see that crow hovering there again. Or ghostly figures. Or something that didn't belong there.  
  
Yet all she saw was the silhouette of the tree outside, it's bare branches stretching up like grabbing fingers. A horror movie image of a hand reaching out a grave flashed in Jane's mind. It vaguely reminded her also, of a symbol she'd seen somewhere, she thought it came from a Norse myth, something about the Tree of Life. A life that wasn't hers still lived in this room, in this town.  
  
So how the hell did she get rid of it and get her own back?  
  
* * *  
Allegra would have thought the better of him, really. Stefan had always liked to hide, yet here he was, in one of the most expensive hotels in the town. The middle of the day, and he was asleep. She sat on the bed beside him, a crimson nail gently stroking his cheek as he'd slept. Security was pretty pathetic, she shouldn't have been able to get into his room so easily.   
  
Then again security was probably fine, it was just none of them were strong enough to resist her mind control. She'd had four hundred years to perfect it, after all.   
  
He still looked as yummy as he had back then, things had changed with the times, of course. He seemed a little shorter than she could remember. Did people loose height over long periods of time? Allegra hadn't been aware of that.  
  
Oh well. Small nor not, she didn't really mind as long as she was hers. She wasn't sure if he'd noticed her around or not yet, but it wouldn't hurt to leave just a little hint.  
  
* * *  
  
Dusk was embracing the daytime sky, chasing away the sun when Damon woke. A shiver of unusual cold ran down his spine. He was alone, he had chosen not to have anyone sharing his bed last night, but he felt oddly certain that someone had been in, could still be here, or had just left the room.  
  
There was a distinct sense of *presence* hanging around that was extremely disturbing. A bolt of sharp pain shot through his thumb, and he turned, looking in amused amazement at the blood red rose sitting on his pillow. He'd stabbed his thumb on a thorn.  
  
He watched the blood start to trickle before the wound healed almost instantly. He picked up the rose, looking at it. Blood red...was that supposed to mean something? How did that get here? Who the hell could have gotten all the way in here? He had taken the most expensive suite. Had these people not heard of *security*?   
  
Who had put the rose there? The blood red colour was not just a coincidence, he was pretty certain of that. He needed some answers. He grimaced as he got out of help. He had a fair idea of here he could make a start in looking.  
  
* * * 


	6. Part 6

Part 6  
  
"We have a situation down here."  
  
Elena sighed. Somehow, there always seemed to be a 'situation' going on in Fell's Church. Since she had left nothing else had happened. Up until now. She had known something had been wrong. Stefan had been acting very strangely for the last few days. He had accidentally called her 'Allegra' and she hadn't seen him since. He was deliberately avoiding her.  
  
Who was Allegra? As far as she was aware Stefan hadn't seen the movie *Hannibal*. It was the only place she could think of where the name of Allegra came from. Now Bonnie had called.  
  
"What kind of situation?"  
  
"Take a guess," Bonnie's tone was dry and sarcastic. Had she and Meredith had a body-switch?  
  
Elena frowned. There was noticeably a consistency with the odd events in Fell's Church. They all seemed to relate back to the same old thing, and she was absolutely certain she wouldn't be surprised to discover if this was a different variation of more of the same thing.   
  
~Damn you Damon~ she thought moodily. ~Why can't you keep your teeth to yourself?~ It might not be him, but she was willing to bet he would be involved, one way or another.   
  
"The 'V' word?" she said, in case Stefan was lurking around in the shadows somewhere. Since she had returned from the spirit world she had been human, and her senses had dulled again. She couldn't decide if she was pleased about that or not. On the one hand, she was, on the other hand, she was disappointed she and Stefan wouldn't be together forever, she wasn't immortal anymore. There just *had* to be someway around that...  
  
"I'm not really sure at the moment, but yes, that's a good bet."  
  
Elena was confused. "What? What's going on down there?"  
  
"There's a new kid just moved into your old house."  
  
"Really." Elena wasn't sure how she felt about that. Aunt Judith had moved? Maybe with all that had happened, maybe she shouldn't be all that surprised. She didn't like the idea of someone else occupying her room.  
  
"She's more or less the exact image of you."  
  
Elena blinked. Stefan had thought she was the image of Katherine. "She looks like me, and she's living in my house? How'd you know?"  
  
"Everyone's talking about it. When I saw her she was reading your diary, the one we put in the library so everyone would know the truth about what really happened? I thought she was you. She seems pretty pissed off that everyone's whispering about her."  
  
Elena remained silent. She didn't see what the problem was, really. So there was a girl who looked like her in town. What was the big deal. She opened her mouth to answer but before she could she heard a door opening somewhere in Bonnie's house and a surprised "What the hell are *you* doing here?"  
  
"Charming as always I see," An unexpected male voice was saying, somewhat snidely.   
  
~I knew it!~ Elena thought. "Bonnie? Bonnie!"  
  
"Damon's here. Why aren't I pleased?"  
  
"Because you're smarter than you think. Keep him there as long as you can, or find out where he's staying. Make him *stay* in town."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just do it. Stefan and I will be on our way ASAP." She hung up and started packing, for herself and Stefan. She didn't know how he'd feel about returning to Fell's Church, and right now didn't care. He was coming home whether he wanted to or not.  
  
"What are you doing? Who was on the phone?" Stefan appeared in the doorway, a look of confusion furrowing his brow.  
  
She looked up. "Bonnie. There's a situation. We're going back to Fell's Church. Now."  
  
* * * 


	7. Part 7

Part 7  
  
Stefan frowned at Elena as she bustled around their room, throwing things into a suitcase. He'd always pictured her as a tidy packer, he was slightly surprised at the random, hurried manner she was throwing things - both their things - into the Gucci suitcase on the bed. He watched her for a few minutes before speaking. She went to the phone, and booked them on the first flight available to Washington, then booked them a rental car.  
  
**(A/n: As far as I know, Fell's Church was in Virginia, and being a small town, it's unlikely to have an airport, Washington is supposed to be somewhere in the Virginia area, or at least with in driving range, though I've got no idea how long it would take. My geographical knowledge relates to major US cities basic locations, so if this is a totally un-doable journey, correct me and I'll change it to something more apt). **  
  
"What's going on?" he asked, when she hung up. He knew from the look on her face it wasn't going to be worth arguing about going back, despite whatever the "situation" was. She'd already made up her mind, and once she did that, there was no changing it.   
  
"I told you. We're going home."  
  
"I know that," he said as he followed her out the door, down the apartment steps and to the chauffer driven car outside. The apartment and the money technically still belonged to Damon, but he said he didn't need the apartment at the moment, he took what he needed when he did and the rest was left to them. Naturally, after Elena had come back and they'd finally gotten married in Italy, he'd spoiled her rotten. Generally, he gave her anything she wanted without much of an argument.   
  
But going back to Fell's Church...she was supposed to be dead and buried. What would happen if anyone saw them both? He doubted the place would be too happy to see the return of either one of them. Hence, why they'd gone back to Italy.   
  
He remembered the dream he'd had before being woken by the ringing phone. One of the very few other people he had dated. He didn't mention any of it to Elena. Not yet, anyway.  
  
Elena told him about the girl who had moved into her old house, how people were whispering because of the striking similarity. Her tone wasn't pleased, and if anything, a little jealous. He kept his face neutral and talked very little during the long trip back. He had a pretty good idea what was going on. He wished his (and maybe Damon's) ex's had slightly more original ideas for revenge in mind. Didn't history have better things to do with its time than keep repeating itself?  
  
* * *  
Bonnie had to force herself to keep her cool at the unexpected, and unwanted sight of Damon on her doorstep. She'd still never forgotten how he's almost killed her. Maybe she was being a tad overdramatic there, but that was what it had felt like to her.   
  
She was still on the phone to Elena, and had to rush back to tell her. The next thing she knew Elena and Stefan were coming back. That was the whole reason she'd called them, wasn't it?  
  
Damon was still hovering on the doorstep. "You're not inviting me in this time?"  
  
Bonnie shrugged. "I thought once vampires were invited they could come and go as they please."  
  
Damon's laughter still managed to send shivers down her spine. "Yes, well, I was attempting to be polite. I thought you might appreciate that more."  
  
"Fine." Bonnie stepped aside as he came in and sat down on the couch in the lounge. Thank God her parents weren't in at the moment. They had gone out for dinner. The last thing she needed to explain to them were two vampires and a friend who was supposed to be dead. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"There's a new girl in Elena's house. Have you seen her?" His tone was casual, but there was something else underneath Bonnie couldn't quite detect. Something had happened to him. And it was more than running into yet another Elena/Katherine look-a-like. Bonnie was already thinking it was getting monotonous.   
  
"I saw her in the library. But whatever you're here for has nothing to do with her. And you didn't drop by for a social visit." ~At least~ she thought, ~I hope he didn't. ~  
  
"Her name is Jane," he said.   
  
They sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Bonnie was waiting for him to tell her why he was there. She had never imagined him finding anything difficult to talk about. He always managed to find little ways to surprise her.   
  
"The sooner you tell me, the sooner we sort it out and the sooner you go away." She hoped her voice didn't sound too rushed.  
  
Damon frowned, standing up and starting to pace around the small coffee table. "I've been having dreams. About a girl I've never met before. I'm also positive I'm being followed, almost h - " He broke off and sat down again. Bonnie realised he was about to say being *hunted*. She couldn't imagine why that should surprise her. There were people who really hunted vampires. Had he pissed one of them off?  
  
Then she got it. "Jeez, here we go again. She's not quite Katherine, she's not quite Elena, and she's not this third girl, Jane, is she?" She was already bored. Damon clearly had no clue who the girl was. She thought of her own dream before she'd called Elena. The crazy not-Katherine girl, and the running not-Elena girl. ~This is getting ridiculous~ she thought moodily. ~How many times are we going to have to live through this?~  
"She broke into my hotel room and left a red rose on my pillow."  
  
Bonnie blinked. Red rose? Some sort of symbolic thing to do with love, vampires and blood. She was seeing a pattern starting to emerge. But Damon didn't even seem to know a name to give her. So maybe this girl had nothing to do with him. But then that would mean...  
  
~Well~ she thought reasonably. ~Stefan had to have been *doing* something with himself for the five hundred years he's been alive. I suppose if he's ever had girlfriends, they're going to follow the same profile.~ Her eyes rolled. She'd have thought if Stefan would be trying to get *over* Katherine, then he should have gone for something totally the opposite to her.   
  
"They're both on their way back even as I speak," she said softly. Damon didn't respond to that.  
  
"You're going to make me wait until they come, aren't you?"  
  
"There's nothing I can do until I can drag some answers from Stefan."  
  
Damon snorted. "He really needs some variety in his taste."  
  
Bonnie wondered if there was something else Damon was trying to get at there. She decided she didn't want to pursue it. The sooner he was out her house the easier she could breathe. "Give me your number and I'll call you when they get here, then we'll figure something out. This has to stop. It's irritating." She picked up the pad of paper by the phone and gave it to Damon, who scribbled her a number. He took the hint and left with an irritatingly gorgeous smile and a slight wave.  
  
Bonnie shut the door, trying not to think about all the things that were likely to go wrong this time round.  
  
* * * 


	8. Part 8

Part 8  
Stefan was more than a little worried about coming back to Fell's Church. Every time he had been there, something had happened, and innocent people had died. It was bad enough that Elena was supposed to be dead and buried, and that vampires were likely to be involved again.   
All he had wanted when he had come here in the first place was a normal life, to fit in and have a place to belong somewhere. Was that too much to ask? Apparently, he thought with a frown as the cab took them to Bonnie's house, it was. Elena was oddly quiet and pensive as they drove down the familiar streets, a distant look on her face. Lost in memories? He wondered.  
The can stopped and he paid the cabbie, who seemed to want to get away from them as fast as possible. Her hand was tightening on his as they walked up Bonnie's drive.  
"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.  
Elena smiled and nodded. "Fine," she asked as she reached up to ring the door bell. There were sounds of movement from inside, then Bonnie was opening the door. She hadn't changed at all, still small with curly red hair and large inquiring brown eyes.  
There was an awkward moment of silence. It was one thing talking on the phone, but then your dead friend showed up again at your door, maybe it wasn't as easy as it had been that night in the clearing. "Why don't you guys come in?" Bonnie said finally.  
Stefan smiled a little and followed Elena into the house and the comfortable cluttered living room of the McCullough house. He and Elena found seats on the couch and Bonnie perched on an arm chair. "So what's going on?" Elena asked. "Are Matt and Meredith coming?"  
Bonnie shook her head. "Not this time. I didn't call them, I thought the less people involved maybe things would go smoother." Her eyebrow raised meaningfully. Then she made a face. "Well, Damon sort of showed up by himself, he thinks it's got something to do with him. I guess I should go call him."  
"No need."  
Stefan's teeth gritted as Damon appeared in the doorway, a casual bored smile on his face. "What have you been doing this time?" he asked.  
"No how are you, I missed you?" Damon showed his teeth.  
"Knock it off," Elena snapped. "Damon, play nice. Tell us what you've done."  
Stefan listened as Damon told them about the girl in the library, yet another Elena incarnation. Not exactly thrilling in itself. Damon had mistaken her for Elena, Bonnie had been having weird dreams, and Damon had found a red rose on his pillow.   
"So what, if anything, does all this mean?" Elena asked finally. She seemed annoyed, and Stefan guessed he couldn't really blame her. She obviously didn't like the idea of anyone resembling her. Maybe she thought it made her less special.  
"Someone has a problem with you two," Damon suggested. "Which I just can't imagine."  
"Maybe we could try talking to this new girl, Jane, she can't be *that* hard to find," Bonnie suggested. "Providing you don't scare her off." She glared at Damon.  
The red rose appearing out of nowhere brought up unpleasant feelings inside Stefan, reminding him of his own bad dreams lately. He had never mentioned them to Elena, before he could, Bonnie had called.   
Damon snorted. "Oh give me a break. You all automatically assume that I'm always the bad guy. I have feelings, you know." He was trying, and failing, not to smirk again.  
"You're not the bad guy," Stefan said softly. "I am."  
* * * 


	9. Part 9

Part 9  
  
The following morning, for the first time since she had arrived at Robert E Lee no one whispered as Jane walked by. Jane was suspicious, wondering what had happened. Now someone had spoken to her she was going to be accepted? Somehow it seemed unlikely.   
  
"Did you read the diaries?" Sarah was waiting for her by her locker.   
  
Jane nodded. "Guess who I met, practically straight away afterwards?"  
  
"Bonnie? I heard she's back in town, she's supposed to be kind of cool." Sarah yawned, leaning against the row of badly painted orange lockers.   
  
"Worse." Jane made a face. "Damon. He thought I was Elena, like everyone else, then this other girl showed up, again thinking I was Elena and seemed determined to make me pay for something Stefan did to her. It's really fucked up and I have no clue what's going on."  
  
"You met Damon? *The* Damon Salvatore?" Sarah was looking at her in awe. "Was he cute?"  
  
Jane shrugged. "Yeah, if you like the brutal type with pointy teeth and hands that can rip your heart out." She collected the books she needed and they headed down the hall to their first class. "What happened to all of Elena's crowd, are they all still here?"  
  
"From what I heard of Meredith went to study at Duke University on guidance from that gorgeous European History teacher Alaric Saltzman. Like I said, I heard Bonnie's back in town, Elena's supposedly dead, Stefan and Damon supposedly left after the funeral. Caroline has a job as a model for a magazine company in New York, and is the Chanel 8 Weather Girl."  
  
Jane debated. Who out of all of them could give her the most answers...well, Bonnie was the one who was the psychic, and Bonnie had seen her in the library with the diaries, so it made sense, vaguely, to Jane. "I think I'm going to talk to Bonnie."  
  
She didn't mention the nightmare she had had the other night, Bonnie had been in that. So had the weird girl who wanted to kill her. Sarah nodded. "Okay, we'll go after school."  
  
Jane's eyebrow arched delicately. "We?"  
  
Sarah shrugged. "Sure, why not?"  
  
Jane shrugged, not quite ready to believe there was the possibly of a real friend yet. But it would be nice to think about that.  
  
* * *  
  
Elena left Bonnie's house, needing to be alone. So many memories filled her, she was somewhere in a state between jealousy, anger and sadness. She hadn't wanted to hear what Stefan had to say. Stefan was the *good* guy. He would never hurt anyone.   
  
There had been no one after Katherine, he had been heart broken by her loss. Why would anyone else even tempt him? It had been hard enough for him to give into her.  
  
Her feet ate up the miles of the familiar town streets as she wandered around in the gathering dusk. So far no one had recognised her. Stefan and Bonnie had tried to stop her, but she didn't want to listen to them.   
  
She found herself pausing outside her own house, a little smile on her face as she stared up at the quince tree outside. She could see a figure moving about in her room.  
  
Elena felt tears stinging her eyes. Margaret and Aunt Judith didn't live there now. They ad moved away, and she would never be able to go inside her own house, never be able to see her room again. Someone else lived there now.   
  
The dark figure was leaving the room, and a few seconds later she heard the front door opening. She drew back in shock as she watched the girl coming out.  
  
This must be the girl Jane, Bonnie and Damon had been talking about. The resemblance was almost ridiculously uncanny, Elena thought. It was as if someone had taken a pinch of everything that made Elena Gilbert Elena Gilbert and had added them to this *stranger's* DNA.   
  
The girl was walking quickly down the street. Elena found herself almost automatically following, her footsteps soft so as to not be detected. Apparently she didn't do a very good job because after a few minutes Jane turned around, clearly sensing someone was there.  
  
"Who's that? I know someone's there." Jane's tone was annoyed and angry. Elena guessed she couldn't blame her. She waited a few minutes, not so easy to blend in with the night now she wasn't a vampire anymore. Jane took a few small steps forward, then stopped. Her own shock mirroring Elena's, like everything else about this girl.  
  
"You're dead," Jane said.  
  
Elena stepped into as much view as she dared. "I didn't last very long being dead. I still have things to do in this world."  
  
"Why is everyone stalking *me* if you're still alive?" Jane demanded.  
  
~As if I know all the answers~ Elena thought. "I don't know." She sighed heavily. The sooner they could find out what was going on, she supposed, the sooner they could leave. "You'd better come with me."   
* * *  
  
Allegra wished she could have been there when Stefan found the rose. She had seen him wandering around afterwards, an uncharacteristic anger in his expression. So she knew she had made a mark. That was at least good for now.   
  
Now the real issue that was bugging the hell out of her was this Elena girl. Once she was done with playing with Stefan's heart, she faked her death and was now back in her stupid little human high school, pretending her name was "Jane". How boring, Allegra thought.  
  
Now "Jane" looked like she might even have a *friend* on top of it all. It had pleased her at first, that Elena's plan hadn't been going very well at first because people where whispering about her, and it was clearly upsetting her. But now things were settling down.   
  
~As if I can allow *that* to happen~ Allegra thought as she followed the girl Sarah, on her way to meet "Jane" now.  
  
Sarah was so typically human she didn't have a clue she was being followed. It made Allegra laugh out loud. Sarah, finally alerted stopped, and looked around, confused.  
  
"Hello?" she called out, sounding a little stupid, almost like she wasn't sure if she wanted an answer.  
  
~The unanswered question answered by the devil in a skirt~ Allegra thought, reaching out from the shadows and grabbing the human, knocking her head back and sinking her teeth in. The blood flowed through her, warming her, basking her in its power and life.   
  
She tossed the body to one side and walked away, smiling and whistling to herself cheerfully.  
  
* * * 


	10. Part 10

Part 10  
  
So Elena was really...real. Jane wasn't sure she wanted to be walking around with someone who was supposed to be dead and buried, considering all the grief she had for looking like this girl.  
  
What was so special about her, anyway? Jane thought moodily as she followed Elena to Bonnie's house. So she was blonde and had blue eyes, was that the ultimate calling for popularity - and on top of it two vampires attracted to you?  
  
~Let's not forget what you were like before you came here,~ Jane's inner voice pointed out. Jane ignored it, deciding this was probably a bad route to go down and she'd come to some simple conclusion about it after all. ~i.e. jealousy?~ The head voice wouldn't let this one go.   
  
She was briefly distracted by the sound of sirens and the flashing red and blue lights of police cars somewhere near by. She frowned, a sinking feeling opening up inside her.   
  
"That doesn't sound good," she said.  
  
Elena barely glanced up. "I can't be seen around any sort of authority figures. It's probably nothing, come on."  
  
It didn't feel like nothing to Jane. "I want to go and see...I was supposed to be meeting a friend..." Jane was almost running in the direction of the flashing lights. They should have gone after school, like they had planned instead of waiting till that evening. Sarah had forgotten she had a newspaper meet or something. So they had changed plans.  
  
Jane came up short behind some uniformed police offers, staring at the body. Her long brown hair covered her face, but Jane recognised the short cream skirt and purple camisole, Sarah had been wearing them earlier. Her skin, she noticed, was almost unnaturally pale.  
  
The police officers finally became of Jane standing behind them. "You shouldn't be here, Miss, this is a crime scene. Run along now." The voice was firm, and Jane knew she couldn't hang around, it wasn't worth arguing.  
  
Her insides turning numb, she walked back the way they'd come, finding Elena watching in the shadows, an annoyed expression on her face. "Who was it?"  
  
"Sarah. The friend I was supposed to be meeting." Jane shook her head, not understanding how it could be possible that Sarah was dead, when they had only been talking on the phone about ten minutes ago.  
  
A piece of darkness beside her was becoming solid, and now revealed himself to be Damon. "Allegra strikes," he said dryly, nodding in the direction of the crime scene.  
  
Jane frowned. "Who's Allegra?"  
  
"The vampire Stefan thinks is responsible for all this crap," Elena said angrily. "Damon, what are you doing here?"  
  
Damon smiled. "Making sure nothing happens to you."  
"I can take care of myself," Elena snapped.  
  
Jane wondered what the problem was. No one in Elena's life was dead at the moment, so why was she being a bitch? She remembered the other woman she had seen outside the library after her first encounter with Damon. The one she had thought of the reincarnation of Katherine. Her eyes rolled, deciding not to comment. This was starting to seem a little silly to her.   
  
Stefan had loved Katherine, Katherine had done something stupid resulting as him and Damon being vampires and hating them. Damon had run off to make the most of his powers and immortality. Stefan had spent five hundred years wallowing in self pity. Somewhere along the lines, he had found himself a new girlfriend. Obviously something had gone wrong. Katherine's revenge plan had screwed up, so now Allegra, whoever she was, was having her hand at it.   
  
"What's this Allegra girl's problem, anyway?" she asked, finally. She was having trouble concentrating. She was certain Elena and Damon had been there a minute ago. Now where...oh, they...they'd moved, but she couldn't see them clearly. A grey haze was starting to cloud her vision, making her feel a little sick.  
  
She heard yelling, and Damon saying something cutting she would have probably admired if her head wasn't spinning. ~Come on, focus~ the inner voice, actually trying to help her. ~It's important.~  
  
But Jane couldn't hold on. The darkness took her.  
  
* * * 


	11. Part 11

Part 11  
  
Bonnie found herself unable to say much to comfort Stefan after Elena had stormed off. Damon seemed to have done his disappearing act as well, she'd left for two minutes, and he wasn't there anymore. "Where did Damon go?"  
  
Stefan leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes. "I don't know. I can't believe I was so stupid."  
  
Bonnie felt uncomfortable. "Everyone makes mistakes," she offered, not sure what else to say. So far this Allegra woman hadn't done anything much but haunt their dreams and leave a red rose in Damon's hotel room. "It's not like anyone's dead yet." She turned on the TV, flipping through until she found a news channel. "Open mouth, insert foot," she muttered.  
  
Stefan's eyes opened. "What's happened?"   
  
"They've found a body, not far from Elena's old house."  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Bonnie followed Stefan, not really sure what he hoped to find. Maybe they'd run into Elena. She might have calmed down after storming off earlier. Not that Bonnie blamed her really, but she couldn't help wondering what Stefan had done in all those five hundred years, had he really not seen anyone else since Katherine? Well, apart from Allegra.  
  
The crime scene was covered with cops and news media, it was hard to get close or even see what was going on. Bonnie couldn't tell if the victim was male or female. "I think we should get out of here and find Elena," Stefan said, coming back to her.   
  
"How bad is it?"  
  
"One victim so far, I heard the medical examiner mention something about loss of blood - lots of it," Stefan looked around anxiously. The last thing they needed was people catching him at the scene of yet another bizarre attack. Most people had forgotten the previous attacks when Elena was still alive, but since Jane had arrived, the rumours and whispers had started up again.   
  
Bonnie nodded. "Okay, let's go." She knocked into someone, almost jumping at the sudden rush of cold she felt in its presence. "Oh God."  
  
"Not quite, but damn close," Damon said, moving backwards a step.  
  
Bonnie had run out of energy to yell at him. "What happened here? Have you seen Elena?"  
  
"Three of them, actually, that other girl was here as well, the dead one was a friend of hers. One of them knocked me out." He frowned a little, Bonnie might have been imagining things, but was that self-disgust she heard in his voice?  
  
"Allegra," Stefan said bitterly. "She took Elena and this Jane girl as well. Where?"  
  
"How the hell should I know?" Damon snapped.  
  
"Cut it out, arguing isn't going to help us find them," Bonnie interrupted. "You're a psychotic vampire determined for revenge and see two of the one person you wanted to kill. Where do you take them?"  
  
"The crypt," Stefan offered.  
  
Damon shook his head. "That's far too obvious. If she wants something from you, she'll contact you before long. She won't kill them yet."  
  
"You seem to know an awful lot about this," Stefan said dryly.   
  
"We can always go and check the crypt, just to be sure," Bonnie said, to save argument's sake. She had no other thoughts at the moment. ~You'd think after all we'd been through, we'd get better at this~ she thought, striding off and leading the way. Another thought was maybe she could try a spell to find Elena, the one she had to contact Stefan. But could they really wait until midnight?   
  
* * *  
  
Allegra hadn't been able to find anywhere but the deserted Quonset hut to keep her prisoners, she hadn't really thought it through, she'd seen them coming and just struck out. She'd wanted to mess with their heads a little more.  
  
But she hadn't expected two Elenas. What did that mean? Both were dumped on the floor, tied up and unconscious at the moment, and if they were out cold, then it was no fun to torture them.   
  
"Wh-what's going on?" One of them was coming round.   
  
"I told you I'd get you," Allegra said, standing in front of her, hands placed either side of her slender hips. She barred her teeth, making sure the girl could see her fangs glittering in the dim lighting, a little visual trick she was very good at. "But maybe you can tell me why there are two Elena's, and who the man in the shadows is."  
  
The girl struggled to sit up, looking like she was going to be sick. Allegra took a few steps away, not really in the mood for being puked on.   
  
"For starters, I'm not Elena, my name is Jane," she said, sounding just as annoyed as Allegra felt. "*She's* Elena, I just happen to look like her. Kill her if you want to kill someone. I've got nothing to do with any of this. Just bad luck."  
  
Allegra was confused. She didn't quite see how any of this was possible. "But you live in Elena's old house, and go to her school, and..." She trailed off and shook her head.  
  
Jane shrugged, tugging at the rope that bound her hands. "I don't know. The guy in the shadows...he must be Damon, Stefan's brother."  
  
Brother? Allegra had never known Stefan had a brother, he'd never mentioned his family to her. He just simply refused to talk about it. Could she have been stalking the wrong one?  
  
"What's your problem?" The original Elena had finally come round. She was glaring at Allegra, as if that would have some sort of affect on her.   
  
Allegra giggled. "Come on, you can do better than that."   
  
"What the hell is all this about?" Elena demanded.  
  
"Ooh, tough," Jane sneered. She didn't seem to like Elena much either. Allegra was seriously debating on letting her go. Then she could change Jane and have a friend who hated Elena as well, and they could both go make Stefan pay.  
  
"I want Stefan, he wants you, therefore, we have a problem," Allegra said reasonably, pacing around the small hut, wishing she had time to think of a better plan than this. That was the problem with spurs of the moment, there were usually draw backs.  
  
"You know you've been stalking Damon," Elena said, her tone changing to reasonable conversation as she sat up. "From what I know he's available, if you like dark and sexy vampires."  
  
  
Allegra considered. "Well, I like dark and sexy vampires, but there's only one I have my eye on. You can have the brother."  
  
"One question," Jane interrupted. "What exactly, do you plan to do to us?"  
  
Allegra glanced over at her. "I thought *that* would be kind of obvious. You're the bait, if I don't get Stefan I'll kill you, one by one."  
  
"Oh please," Elena snorted, shaking her head. "You think you can win him over like that? I've been dead once, and still came back when he called me."  
  
Allegra walked away, refusing to listen to them anymore. It would work. It would! She wanted nothing else, and would get what she wanted. "Shut up!" she snapped, and hurried out of the hut.   
  
* * * 


	12. Part 12

Part 12  
  
Bonnie's hope that they could simply find them in the crypt in the graveyard dwindled the moment they arrived and had gone down the ladder into the darkness. There was no one there, and it looked like there hadn't been anyone there in a long time. "Damn," she said moodily, folding her arms.  
  
"Even history must get bored repeating itself sometimes," Damon said unhelpfully after joining her and Stefan. "How come all your girlfriends have a habit of being - not all there?" He smiled unpleasantly.   
  
"Haven't you ever heard the phrase if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything?" Bonnie snapped, getting tired of his callousness.   
  
"Yes, but I tend not to take any notice."  
  
Standing around and making snotty comments wasn't exactly going to get them very far.   
  
Particularly when they had no idea where Allegra could hold Elena and Jane. They had no idea what she was planning on doing, or where to even go about finding them.   
  
"We'll find them," Stefan said, ignoring Damon's comment. Bonnie heard the absolute determination in his voice. She wished there was something she could do with her powers to help them. They couldn't wait until midnight. "Then we need to kill Allegra. She's just an ordinary vampire, but I still have this." He reached behind one of the broken lids in the ante-chamber, producing what was left of the white ash wood stake. One end was still splintered, one end pointed and sharp.  
  
"You got that and hid it?" Bonnie asked, feeling a little queasy at the thought.   
  
Stefan shrugged, his lips stretched in a sad smile. "Let's just say I had the sixth sense that we'd need it again."  
  
"Yeah, it's called paranoia," Damon said dryly. "They're not here. So we should try somewhere else." And with that he turned back and headed back the way they'd come.  
  
And as much as Bonnie hated to admit it, he was actually right. She sighed and started to follow, feeling particularly bad for the human girl Jane.  
  
It must be so hard for her. Moving in the middle of a school year was bad enough, but to be living in the house and look like a girl who had died under mysterious circumstances (even though she was actually alive and the rest of Fell's Church didn't know that) must be terrible. Not only did the poor Jane girl have that misfortune, she had managed to attract a psychotic vampire as well.  
  
By the time she made it out the crypt, she almost knocked into Damn, standing still and silent, looking out at something across the graveyard. Bonnie frowned, trying to see what he was watching so closely.   
  
"What?" she asked him.  
  
"None of these psycho vamps are very smart, really."  
  
Bonnie wondered what he meant, various levels of psycho minds wasn't something she really wanted to think in depth about. "Oh," she said, getting at least part of it.   
  
A tall blonde girl was walking lightly across the graveyard, carrying a long iron rod, and an arm full of wood as well. Bonnie dreaded to think what she was going to do with them.  
  
"She'll lead us into a trap," Stefan said, joining them.  
  
"And what other choice do we have? We have to follow her now," Bonnie said, as quietly and quickly as she could, hurrying after Allegra.  
  
* * *  
  
Jane had given up struggling with the rope binding her wrist. Allegra had been gone for what seemed like forever, when she came back with a pile of wood which she dropped on the floor, and a long pointed metal stick.   
  
"Who wants to go first?" Allegra said brightly, preparing to light the pile of wood.  
  
Elena seemed to do nothing but complain about how unfair this all was, she'd been there and done that and it was about time people gave up with trying to do this to her when they obviously weren't going to win.   
  
Jane had tuned her out after a while. It wasn't like she had asked for any of this, either. She had just wanted to go back to her old life in her old home where people knew her and liked her and she wasn't the image of a dead girl.  
  
"You wanted to kill Elena, so why not kill her? It's not like I like any of these people," she said finally.   
  
  
"You bitch!" Elena snapped from beside her. "I'm through with Stefan." She smiled encouragingly as the fire sparked into life and Allegra stuck the end of the poker in the centre of the flames. "I was going to break up with him, he'll yours."  
  
Jane laughed harshly, thinking of all the words of love she had read in Elena's diary. Stefan was life and breath for Elena. He was everything to her. "Like you would really be able to cope with out him for a second."  
  
Elena glared. "How would you know anything about what Stefan means to me?"  
  
Jane shrugged, then winced as the cords pulled at her wrists, the muscles in her arms and shoulders starting to ache painfully being pulled at such an uncomfortable angle. "I read your diary from when you were at high school here. Bonnie left it in the library so people would know the truth about what happened."   
  
Elena was silent. Her eyes closed briefly. Jane didn't say anything, even Allegra was watching her curiously, toying with the poker. Elena opened her eyes and turned to look at the insane vampire.  
  
"Even if you do kill me, do you really think that will make Stefan change his mind and forget about me?" she asked reasonably.  
  
Even Jane knew that this was something Allegra had never thought through. She wanted the guy who had hurt her and wanted to have him back. Hurting the person he loved at the moment was just going to make him hate her more.   
  
"I don't care, I just want you out the way!" Allegra snapped, grabbing the metal rod and swinging it dangerously. The end wasn't exactly glowing hot, yet, but Jane was certain Allegra could do plenty of damage with it. "You don't know how much it hurts to loose someone you loved!"  
  
She lurched forward. Both Jane and Elena screamed at the same time. But the poker never actually touched either of them. Allegra stopped in mid run, collapsing, a large piece of wood sticking out her back.  
  
* * * 


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
"Are you hurt?" Bonnie asked, offering Jane a mug of steaming hot chocolate.  
  
Jane was relived the ordeal was finally over. The fire had been put out, Allegra's body was sitting in Bonnie's basement. When the sun came up, they were going to leave her out there to burn. According to Damon the easiest way to get rid of a vampire corpse. How he knew that, Jane didn't want to ask.  
  
"Not hurt, more annoyed than anything else," Jane answered, but accepted the mug. She sat on the couch in the McCullough's living room. Stefan and Elena were snuggled together in an arm chair, all over each other. Jane's eyes rolled, but she didn't comment. If anything she was a little jealous. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone. "It doesn't help that everyone at school keeps looking at me weird."  
  
"Say to hell with school." Damon was lounging in the doorway. His eyes twinkled. "There are other options."  
  
"Thanks, but no thanks," Jane shuddered at the thought of being a vampire. Even if that ever happened to her, she wasn't really sure he was the type of person she wanted teaching her the tricks of the trade.  
  
Damon shrugs. "Your loss. See you round." And he was gone.  
  
"He does that a lot," Bonnie said with a small smile.   
  
"As far has the school thing, have you ever thought of maybe trying a new look? You could dye your hair, or something," Elena suggested, tearing her eyes away from Stefan. "We can help with that."  
  
Jane wondered why Elena had decided to be nice for the time being. Jane thought about it. She had always been perfectly comfortable with the way she had looked, and never considered a change. "Anything as long as I don't have any more vampires trying to torture me."  
  
"Well if that happens, you know who to call," Bonnie said.  
  
Jane finished her chocolate. "The last thing I want is for anything like this to happen again!" she snorted. One experience like this was more than enough.   
  
"It doesn't hurt to be prepared," Bonnie added, smiling almost sheepishly. "Just in case."  
  
THE END. 


End file.
